New law limits funeral protests

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law Wednesday aimed at preventing a Topeka-based church group from conducting strident, anti-gay protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers.

"It is unfathomable to me that anyone would stage a protest at a funeral," Blagojevich said in a statement.

The newly approved Let Them Rest in Peace Act drew scorn immediately from Shirley Phelps-Roper, attorney for the Westboro Baptist Church, which claims the military is morally corrupt and "pro-gay." She vowed pickets would be at the funeral on Friday of Christopher Donaldson, of Effingham, who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.

"The law is impotent," she said. "You've done nothing to change that God is killing your children and sending them home from battle. Keep your big, fat snout out of our religion."

The law prohibits disruptive and inflammatory protesting 30 minutes before a funeral, during the service and 30 minutes after a funeral while remaining 200 feet from the funeral site.

The funeral bill was one of more than 350 bills legislators passed this spring for the governor to sign or reject.

Even as Blagojevich hits the trail for his re-election campaign, the governor is weighing what to do on bills that deal with topics ranging from sex offenders to the scourge of methamphetamine.

In an election year, the Democrat-led General Assembly didn't take key votes on such controversial issues as banning assault weapons, changing medical malpractice laws or expanding casino gambling.

Instead, they mostly stayed with the tried and true, what House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) called the "standard fodder."

In the two weeks since the legislature adjourned, Blagojevich has signed legislation banning cigarette smoking in Illinois dormitories, cracking down on people who wear phony military medals and prohibiting bar patrons from--literally--inhaling their cocktails.

In that case, the governor and lawmakers sought to stop a practice that was popularized in such places as Britain and Australia. People use devices to breath the fumes of beer or hard liquor, allowing them to inhale drinks faster and get a quicker, intense buzz. An added bonus is that a calorie counter need not worry.

The smoking ban inside dormitories will send students outside to puff their cigarettes in an attempt to curtail nicotine addiction and the risk of dorm fires. The new law cracking down on people who falsely claim they were awarded military medals, such as the Purple Heart or the Medal of Honor, slaps a fine of up to $200 on violators.

There are dozens of other decisions awaiting the governor, including:

Sex offenses: Courts would have the final say on whether a juvenile offender must register as a sex offender and for how long. Judges would make decisions based on such factors as the ages of the victim and the offender, the level of participation of an offender in a crime and the offender's history of sex offenses.

In a separate bill, a sex offender would be required to give a DNA sample when going onto the sex offender registry.

Another measure would discourage sex offenders from trying to hide their identities to avoid public scrutiny. The measure would ban persons convicted of criminal sexual abuse from changing their names.

Methamphetamine: The growing problems of methamphetamine use was the target of numerous bills.

Legislators borrowed an idea from the sex offender registry to approve a meth manufacturer registry that would be posted on the Internet.

Separate legislation would make it a crime to give a false identification at a store to buy ingredients to produce meth.

Dogs: One measure pending on the governor's desk would impose a stricter penalty on owners who don't control vicious dogs that attack and seriously injure someone.

One measure would increase penalties for people who attend a dogfight, solicit a minor to go to a dogfight or have a child under 13 years old at a dogfight.

Booze and history: Lawmakers also decided to go along with an administration request to allow alcohol at historic sites, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The thinking was that the proposal would help boost tourism by providing an optional location at historic sites for weddings and other social events.